The voice that guided snooker home

RIP John Virgo: 1946-2026

John Virgo has died, and with him goes a voice that never talked down to the game or dressed it up. He understood snooker because he had lived it, the long nights, the lonely practice tables, the thin line between nerve and noise. As a player, he earned his place properly, a UK champion, but it was later that he became part of people’s lives.

From TV's Big Break to snooker commentary, he spoke as someone on your side, alert to the tiny dramas that decide frames and fortunes. His commentary had urgency, warmth and judgement, never mistaking volume for insight. That familiar cry when danger hovered near the cue ball was not a gimmick; it was instinct sharpened by experience.

He brought humour without condescension and enthusiasm without strain. He made the game feel open, companionable, something you could share rather than merely watch. Many fine players pass through snooker; fewer become the soundtrack of the sport. Virgo did, and the silence he leaves behind will be deeply felt.